Canadian-led NATO Battlegroup begins work in Latvia

June 19, 2017

Camp Ādaži, Latvia – National Defence / Canadian Armed Forces

Canada is a leading member of NATO that has always deployed our troops and equipment when and where they are needed most. The Government of Canada is committed to taking concrete action so that Canadians – and people around the world – can feel safe and secure in their communities.

Over 1,000 soldiers from seven NATO nations participated in a ceremony today at Camp Ādaži, Latvia, to mark the standup of NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) battlegroup in Latvia.

The battlegroup will operate in concert with the Latvian Land Forces Infantry Brigade. The eFP battlegroup is commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Wade Rutland and is comprised of soldiers from Albania, Canada, Italy, Poland, Slovenia and Spain.

NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, and Raimonds Vejonis the President of the Republic of Latvia, attended the ceremony Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan, and General Jonathan Vance, the Chief of the Defence Staff represented Canada at the ceremony

With this event all NATO eFP battlegroups are now in place in Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Poland, as agreed upon by NATO Heads of State and Government at the Warsaw Summit in July 2016.

Chiefs of Defence from the six contributing nations stand with Canada’s Defence Minister, Harjit Sajjan; NATO Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg; The President of the Republic of Latvia, Raimonds Vējonis and Latvia’s Minister of Defence, Raimonds Bergmanis after the ceremony that marks the standup of the enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup at Camp Ādaži, Latvia on June 19, 2017. (Photo: MCpl True-dee McCarthy, Canadian Forces Combat Camera) IS05-2017-0051-012